A Series of Catastrophic Events
by DiWitt
Summary: Lily, Arthur and Arabella are orphans, but why is an evil villain after them and their fortune? Based on A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket, but with a slight twist. L/J romance in later chapters.
1. A Message to the Reader

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Dear Reader,  
  
I'm terribly sorry to tell you that the story you are about to read is dreadfully miserable. For inside these chapters are the accounts of the unfortunate lives of the Evans orphans. I pray if you are in a delightful and enchanting mood that you go pick another story which is less heavy- hearted. This is not a story for someone who likes fairy tales and happy endings, I ensure you that this story rarely have any pleasant moments. Although the Evans orphans are smart and well-behaved children, coming from a wealthy and famous wizard family, it seems that trouble and misery always find a way to collide with them.  
  
After their parents' mysterious death, (whom the muggles police said were killed in the fire that destroyed their house and everything they had once own as well,) the Evans orphans were to live with different guardians and constantly followed by a cruel man by the name of Count Voldemort and his menacing men, who wants nothing better but to steal the entire Evans fortune. Everywhere the orphans go, Voldemort always have a scheme and phony disguises to try and fool them, eventually the orphans figure out his plans but each time they barely escaped his clutches.  
  
This unpleasant story contains cold porridge for breakfast, car accidents, a horrible villain, a doll name Pretty Penny, a tatoo of an eye, coupons, dripping fungus, a liar, S.O.R.E., a false elevator, leeches, despair, arresting innocent people and much, much more horrendous things.  
  
I have sworn to record the history of the Evans, however you do not have to read it. Decide wisely. I would not be able to stop you if you want to continue reading, but if I were you I will move on to another story. It is still never too late to turn back...  
  
  
  
With all due respect,  
  
diwitt  
  
  
  
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	2. The Bad Beginning PART I

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A SERIES OF CATASTROPHIC EVENTS  
  
  
  
  
  
Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN Harry Potter or the other characters, they belong to J.K. Rowling. I DO NOT OWN A Series of Unfortunate Events, it belongs to Lemony Snicket.  
  
Summary: An evil villain is after the Evans orphans to steal their fortune. Based on A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket. (L/J romance in later chapters.)  
  
Author's Notes: I'm sorry to say but there is no Hogwarts in this fanfic. I'm trying to go along with the series.  
  
  
  
WARNING: This is your last chance to back down if you don't think you are up to reading this upsetting story. The starting is quickly approaching...save yourself from despair...your last chance...  
  
  
  
' ' -thoughts  
  
  
  
The Bad Beginning Part I  
  
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It all began on a chilly, foggy day when the Evans children were walking along the seashore at the Briny Beach. On days like these the Evans enjoy their strolls much better than on hot day, when the beach would be packed full of people. Now, they have the whole beach to themselves. The children's appearance were rather uncommon, they had red hair and beautiful green eyes, they come from a wealthy and well-respected wizard family.  
  
First there was Lily, the eldest Evans child, who at the age of fourteen was extremely good at charms and inventing things she wanted to build. If you had known Lily for a very long time, you would notice that whenever her hair was tied up with a silvery ribbon to keep it from falling onto her face, her brain would be whizzing with ideas for her new inventions.  
  
Secondly there was Arthur, the second oldest Evans child and the only boy, who at the age of twelve had read the majority of the books in the enormous library of the Evans mansion, and had a great interest in muggles. Arthur would usually be seen reading an interesting book all through the night, and in the morning, you would often see him asleep on a chair where he was reading and his glasses still on.  
  
Last but not least there was little Arabella, the youngest Evans child, who have four remarkably sharp teeth and love to bite hard items with them. Like all babies, Arabella could not actually speak proper words, except saying Lily's and Arthur's name, but her siblings would often find out what she wanted to say. So when Arabella was repeating, "jek," over and over again, Lily and Arthur were trying to figure out what she meant. They instantly knew what when they saw a dark figure emerging from the fog and heading towards them....  
  
"Who do you think it might be, Arthur?" asked Lily, feeling a bit uneasy.  
  
"I'm not quite sure, it's difficult to make out the face in this fog," replied Arthur.  
  
"Revud," said Arabella, meaning somewhere like, "Whoever it might be, it's coming closer."  
  
When the person drew nearer, the children instantly knew who he was. Mr. Diggory. A very good friend of Mr. and Mrs. Evans. Mr. Diggory was a banker who works at Gringotts Bank in Diagon Alley, and he deals with most of the Evans' currency affairs.  
  
Lily was the first one to speak as Mr. Diggory came to a halt. "Good afternoon, Mr. Diggory."  
  
Then Arthur spoke, "how are you, Mr. Diggory?"  
  
"Jingy?" asked Arabella, which meant something like, "It's a pleasure to see you again."  
  
"Hello, children, I'm fine thank you," said Mr. Diggory, but Lily, Arthur, and Arabella knew something was wrong because there was a grim look on Mr. Diggory's face. "I have awful news to tell you, it happens that your parents are...dead."  
  
"What?" said Arthur, unsure of what he'd just heard.  
  
"Fikewo!" shouted Arabella meaning, "There must be some kind of mistake!"  
  
Finally, Lily recovered from the shock and asked shakily, "are you sure, Mr. Diggory, that they are....gone?"  
  
"I'm positive, Lily," replied Mr. Diggory, "in fact the whole house was burned down with them. The fire department arrived too late and everything was reduced to ashes."  
  
"Burned down???"  
  
"Yes, it was burned down," said Mr. Diggory, "the muggle police are still investigating on it, but there's not much to investigate when everything is gone but a large pile of ashes.  
  
"But that's not possible, how could a simple fire destroy my parents?" asked Lily frankly. "They are wizards and witches after all!"  
  
"That's true, that's why the Ministry of Magic thinks that it's the work of a dark wizard," said Mr. Diggory. "Anyways, I will be in charge of the Evans fortune until Lily turns eighteen, and for now, you three will be living with me until I find a suitable guardian to take care of you. Off we go."  
  
The car ride to Mr. Diggory's house was one of the most miserable and quiet ones that Lily, Arthur, Arabella had ever been in. The one thing on their minds were that this was all a big mistake and their parents aren't dead, but they lost all hopes when they saw that, indeed, there was a large pile of ashes where their beautiful mansion once stood, just like Mr. Diggory had said. They turn a few more corners and finally arrived at the Diggory's house.  
  
"Now, childrens, tomorrow morning would you like to have a last look at the mansion, and see if there are any remains?" asked Mr. Diggory. "The muggle police did recover some things."  
  
"I guess it would be nice to go there once more before we live with another guardian," said Arthur sullenly.  
  
"I agree with Arthur," approved Lily.  
  
"Yilz!" said Arabella, which meant, "Me too!"  
  
"Then it's settle," confirmed Mr. Diggory, as if he was still at Gringotts that moment and talking with the goblins, instead of three sorrowful children who have lost their parents and home.  
  
"Mrs. Diggory have made dinner for all of us, and I suggest you eat something," said Mr. Diggory.  
  
The Evans orphans nodded and went in the house. Mrs. Diggory served them a warm meal of pasta, but it did not help to relief their grief. To make matters more worse, they had to share a room with Amos, the Diggory's son, who was annoying and constantly keep bickering about the most littlest things. But Lily, Arthur, and Arabella dare not complain. They were thankful that kind-hearted people like the Diggorys, except Amos, was helping them a great deal in a time of need.  
  
After complaining how Arabella was trying to bite his toes, Amos finally drifted off to a peaceful dream. But the Evans were not so fortunate, they woke up frequently in the night from spine-chilling nightmares of their parents' end.  
  
'How could they get kill in a fire? It doesn't make any sense! If it was the work of a dark wizard, who would do such a thing?" These were the questions that Lily keep asking herself when she woke up and couldn't fall back to sleep. Not that she wanted to with all those nightmares haunting her. I can't say I blame her.  
  
  
  
After breakfast the next morning, Mr. Diggory drove the Evans orphans to the wreckage. When Mr. Diggory had mention about the muggle police recovering some things last evening, Lily was reminded of her mechanical tools she'd used to build her inventions with, Arthur was reminded of all the books in the library, and little Arabella was reminded of her rattlers and the carrots in the fridge, which were hard things that she loves to bite. But what they found when they reached the ruins was terribly upsetting. All of Lily's tools were melted into very strange shapes that you could not recognize if it's a screw driver or a wrench, Arthurs's favourite books in the library were burned to ashes, and Arabella's rattles and carrots were nowhere to be found. They eventually left and went back to Mr. Diggory's home, where for the next week they stayed and scarely talk to anybody except among themselves. The worse part was, time went terribly slow for them.  
  
One evening when Mr. Diggory came back from a day's work at Gringotts, he told the Evans that he found a convenient guardian to take care of them.  
  
"His name is Count Voldemort. He a distant relative of yours and lives on the other side of town," stated Mr. Diggory.  
  
"How come, we'd never heard of him before?" asked Arthur. "Surely he would have been invited to our past dinner parties or at least mentioned by our deceased parents."  
  
"Well you see, Arthur, Count Voldemort is an actor and tends to travel around the world a lot. He's a very busy man," explained Mr. Diggory.  
  
"Didn't you say he was a count?" questioned Lily.  
  
"He's a count and an actor," replied Mr. Diggory.  
  
"Dof?" asked Arabella.  
  
"What my sister is trying to ask is, when are we departing?" asked Arthur.  
  
"Tomorrow! I suggest you go pack your things now," said Mr. Diggory. "I'll drive you there at the crack of dawn."  
  
Lily and her siblings went to Amos' bedroom to pack their belongings, but they didn't have much, since most of their prized articles were gone. There were a few of those itchy, grotesque shirts that Mrs. Diggory had bought for them, but they'd never worn them.  
  
The children snuggled into the comfy bed and before they fell asleep they wonder how their new guardian would be like, was he a compassionate man or was he cruel? Will their lives ever be the same again, of course not, but they could only hope for the better in the future.  
  
  
  
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End file.
